Chapter 82: The Troops Return

After three days of rain, the sun—having spent three days conserving its strength—finally revealed its round head.

Perhaps everyone knew it had been stifled for too long, because not a single cloud appeared in the sky to greet it today.

Not a cloud for ten thousand li.

The blazing sun hung high!

Atop the small gatehouse of Mei Clan Fort, two reclining chairs sat side by side, facing the brilliant sun, rocking, and rocking.

The Blind Man loved basking in the sunlight.

He was hopelessly obsessed with it.

Zheng Fan suspected that perhaps the scorching sunlight gave him the illusion that his cold heart was being warmed.

Still, in any era, being able to sit quietly without running beneath the burning sun or worrying yourself sick over making a living simply sitting there and enjoying the peace of passing time was a genuine pleasure.

“Master, judging by the time, A’Ming and the others should return by tomorrow morning at the latest.”

“Mm.

“My transfer order should be arriving soon as well.”

Zheng Fan did not know whether the Sixth Prince had already begun his return journey to the capital.

But the Sixth Prince had told him that this matter demanded speed, not delay.

Before Zheng Fan had even left the Marquis’s residence, the Sixth Prince had already sent men to the capital to arrange everything.

At the moment, Zheng Fan felt exactly as he had while waiting for his university admission notice in his previous life.

Although he had a fairly good idea that his transfer destination would probably be Yinlang Commandery.

Yinlang Commandery was the southernmost commandery of The Great Yan Dynasty.

It also bordered both the State of Jin and the State of Qian.

Sometimes, the border between great states was not much different from the boundary between tectonic plates.

Friction and confrontation were frequent.

What Zheng Fan was rather looking forward to was whether his official rank might rise a little after the transfer.

After all, the State of Yan had far too many Lieutenant Commanders.

“The Zhenbei Army has been moving very frequently lately,” Zheng Fan remarked.

That was another reason Zheng Fan wanted to pack everything up and head south as soon as possible.

The entirety of Beifeng Commandery no, more accurately, all three northern commanderies of the State of Yan were now shrouded beneath the clouds of war.

“You needn’t worry about that, Master.

“The imperial court and the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei probably won’t actually fight.

“The recent movements look more like Xiang Zhuang performing the sword dance while his true target is the Duke of Pei.”

“I trust your judgment.”

“Master flatters me.

“Since the Sixth Prince wants to transfer Master south, that means he has already realized that the north cannot truly descend into chaos.

“From his perspective, if he genuinely wants to support Master’s development, then the best possible outcome would be for the Zhenbei Army and the imperial court to beat each other until their brains spill out.

“Heroes emerge in chaotic times.

“Chaos is the true opportunity for people at the bottom to rise and grow.”

“I know.

“I’m simply curious.

“If all of this is a false front—if this generation’s Emperor of Yan and Marquis of Zhenbei are performing an elaborate double act—then just how close must those two men be?”

“Sometimes, for one country to produce two formidable men of heroic ambition is a great misfortune,” the Blind Man said.

“Fortunately, the State of Yan is not large.

“It cannot contain two genuine men of such ambition.”

“Because beyond Yan lies a much broader sky?”

Among the four great states of the East, Yan possessed the smallest territory.

It was also the poorest.

Yet Yan’s image was rather like a honey badger poor as hell and belligerent as hell.

“So this is Yan’s good fortune.

“This generation’s Emperor of Yan and this generation’s Marquis of Zhenbei are both genuine men capable of contending for supremacy.

“For the dreams in their hearts, for their own ambitions, for the hegemonic ambitions of their state, they can both make tremendous sacrifices.

“Their current home is too small.

“Perhaps neither of them thinks much of it.

“Better to stand together and carve out an enormous inheritance for their descendants.”

“Then tell me.

“How do you think the Emperor of Yan intends to deal with the aristocratic clans throughout Yan?”

“The Zhenbei Army has already moved.

“Supposedly the Imperial Guards and the commandery troops of Tiancheng Commandery have moved as well.

“With this many blades and soldiers already in motion, it is impossible for no blood to be spilled.”

“That extreme?”

“It is rare for two such formidable men to appear in the same generation.

“They will not waste this opportunity.

“At the latest, perhaps half a year from now.

“Once this confrontation continues escalating, once the various negotiations, calculations, and arrangements have all fallen into place, at least half of Yan’s local aristocratic clans will probably be uprooted.

“Inside Yan itself, blood will undoubtedly flow like rivers.

“It is like pruning branches.

“On the surface, many limbs are being cut away.

“But the tree called The Great Yan Dynasty will grow healthier and stronger afterward.”

“So this is the strategy you explained to me last night?”

“Yes, Master.

“Once we go south, barring an accident, we will most likely end up facing the State of Qian.

“As long as the Sixth Prince is not an idiot, he will certainly place us on the front facing Qian.

“Jin is tearing itself apart internally.

“Applying outside pressure would only help them resolve their internal conflicts faster and unite against us.

“Only Qian has always been docile.

“If it does not come looking for trouble, we can go looking for trouble ourselves.

“In short, we first accumulate military merit and rapidly develop our own foundation.

“Once our strength reaches a certain level, the great purge inside Yan will probably be ready to begin.

“At that point, we can proactively become the blade the Emperor and imperial court use against the aristocratic clans.

“We ride that favorable wind as well and submit our pledge of allegiance.

“Once the internal purge is finished, Yan will have several reasons to immediately send armies south.

“First, it will need external plunder to rapidly replenish the losses caused by the purge.

“Second, it will need to divert internal tensions outward.

“Third, neither this generation’s Emperor of Yan nor the Marquis of Zhenbei is young anymore.

“So the moment the internal cleanup is complete, Yan will almost certainly launch a southern campaign.

“And when that happens, we, with our experience campaigning in the south, will certainly be entrusted with important duties again...”

“Wait, Blind Man.

“I accept your deductions and your plan.

“There’s only one thing.

“Why are you so certain the Emperor of Yan will use the knife to dig out these aristocratic clans rather than adopt a more conciliatory method?”

“On the surface, the power of aristocratic-clan rule comes from their enormous holdings of productive resources such as land, together with the vast numbers of farming households tied to that land and therefore tied to them.

“But their true strength lies in monopolizing local commerce, education, culture, and access to official careers.

“If the Emperor merely adopts conciliatory policies, or uses military force to compel the clans into temporary concessions, then on the surface Yan avoids the enormous loss of vitality caused by purging itself.

“In reality, however, it merely passes the problem down to future generations.

“That is nothing more than dumping responsibility on one’s descendants.

“Furthermore, according to the Sixth Prince, his Second Brother is an honest man.

“That also means the Emperor of Yan has no intention of leaving these problems for his children and grandchildren.

“He intends to solve every problem himself.

“Right or wrong.

“Merit or blame.

“He will shoulder it alone.”

“It’s a pity The Great Yan Dynasty doesn’t have political newspapers.

“If they invited you to write a column, circulation would definitely be enormous,” Zheng Fan teased.

“Master flatters me again.

“Perhaps blind men simply prefer turning things over inside their heads.”

“By your reckoning, then, this Emperor of Yan has the makings of an emperor for the ages?”

“Absolutely.”

The Blind Man paused.

Then added, “And beside him, he has something most emperors for the ages never possessed—a Marquis of Zhenbei commanding an enormous army.”

“Then we...”

“Qin destroyed the Six States.

“Han reaped the benefit.

“Sui unified the realm.

“Tang inherited it.”

“You’re making my blood boil with that talk.

“No.

“No.

“I need a cup of wine to calm myself down.”

Whenever Zheng Fan spent time with the Blind Man, he finally understood what the Sixth Prince must feel like when speaking with him.

The man kept teasing and provoking you until you genuinely began believing you were the chosen son of destiny as though failing to rebel and establish your own state would be an insult to your life and to the very air you breathed.

Zheng Fan descended the gatehouse and returned to the inner residence of Mei Clan Fort.

There were no outsiders inside.

In fact, because they were preparing to relocate south, the Blind Man had even shut down Mei Clan Fort’s old “highway service station” business.

Zheng Fan personally poured himself a cup of grape wine.

Then he dropped two pieces of ice into it.

Producing saltpeter by crude methods and using it to make ice was hardly difficult.

Zheng Fan and his people all knew how to enjoy life.

Naturally, they would not mistreat themselves.

Originally, the Blind Man had intended to bring out all these tricks one after another and use them to earn money for future development.

But now that the Sixth Prince was acting as a powerful backer, they probably would not lack money in the future.

So there was little reason to keep running businesses.

Every now and then, they could simply toss the Sixth Prince some novelty and exchange it for silver.

A mouthful of chilled grape wine went down.

Zheng Fan shivered.

His head swam slightly.

The feeling was indescribably pleasant.

He was in no hurry to return to the gatehouse and continue being brainwashed by the Blind Man.

Instead, he turned into one of the rooms in the inner residence, reached out, and pushed open the door.

The room was very dark.

A curtain stood in the center.

Zheng Fan lifted it and entered.

Inside, Feng Siniang and Liang Cheng were busy working around Shatuo Que Shi.

When Zheng Fan arrived at Mei Clan Fort from Tiger Head City the day before yesterday, he had already seen Shatuo Que Shi.

But the formerly slovenly man had simply stood there ever since.

He had not moved again.

According to Xue San, it had been raining that night.

He and the Blind Man had been amusing themselves by singing Yue opera, when Shatuo Que Shi dropped out of the sky like Sister Lin.

Zheng Fan did not know why, but over the past few days, every time he entered this room and saw Shatuo Que Shi, an inexplicable sense of reassurance rose inside him.

Perhaps, deep down, Zheng Fan understood very clearly that the Seven Demon Kings under him all possessed thoughts of their own.

They each had their own selves.

In this world, so far, perhaps only this man who had called himself nothing more than a wild barbarian of the desert had genuinely been willing to lend Zheng Fan a hand.

No special transaction.

No entanglement of interests.

Purely because he liked the look of him.

That kind of relationship was very simple.

And because it was simple, it was comfortable.

Siniang had spent the past few days repairing Shatuo Que Shi’s body.

Her needlework had found an excellent field of application here.

According to Liang Cheng, the best method of restoration would still be to find an opportunity for Shatuo Que Shi to kill people and drink blood.

He could then use baleful energy and blood essence to repair his own body.

But there was nowhere nearby to find people to kill.

They could hardly take Shatuo Que Shi into the desert and exterminate some random barbarian tribe, could they?

Zheng Fan genuinely could not do something like that.

It was too beastly.

“He still hasn’t awakened?” Zheng Fan asked Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng shook his head.

“He may have sealed himself away.”

“Why?”

“Perhaps because he does not know how to face what he has become.

“Perhaps because he does not wish to face it.”

Liang Cheng gave an answer dripping with literary melancholy.

“Master, should this servant give him a little cosmetic work?” Siniang asked.

Strictly speaking, this man ought to count as one of their Master’s newly acknowledged “godfathers.”

In truth, the Demon Kings were not particularly opposed to their Master going around acknowledging fathers outside.

They even strongly approved.

Seniority?

Who cared about seniority?

Ahem.

Aside from that idiot Demon Child.

If their Master could go outside and acknowledge an entire regiment of Third-Grade godfathers, the Blind Man would probably be so delighted he genuinely could not find north anymore.

Why bother with business?

Why bother developing slowly?

Just take the Godfather Regiment and steamroll the entire world!

“Forget the cosmetic work.

“Just restore him to how he looked before.”

“Back to that slovenly appearance?”

“Mm.”

“Very well, Master.”

At that moment, Liang Cheng spoke.

“Master, there is actually a way to make him wake.

“Only...”

“Only what?”

“Only there is no need.”

“What method?”

“For example, if this subordinate took a knife right now and stabbed Master several times, he would probably wake up.

“And then...”

Siniang rolled her eyes from the side.

“And then beat you into paste?”

Liang Cheng did not argue.

He nodded.

“That is the most probable outcome.”

The corner of Zheng Fan’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

“Focus on your work.

“Stop thinking about pointless nonsense.”

“Yes, Master.”

By dinnertime, everyone else had set aside what they were doing.

Zheng Fan filled a bowl with food and dishes and personally carried it to the room where Shatuo Que Shi stood.

He did this every evening.

According to the Blind Man, their Master was maintaining the emotional temperature of his relationship with that zombie.

That was naturally the more utilitarian interpretation.

In truth, Zheng Fan simply felt more at ease eating dinner with Shatuo Que Shi.

It was like getting takeout in his previous life, turning on a variety show he liked, and eating while watching.

Even the food tasted better.

Zheng Fan knelt on the floor.

The food sat on a stool.

A cup of wine stood before him.

Another cup had been placed on Shatuo Que Shi’s side.

After drinking one cup himself, Zheng Fan poured another cup onto the floor for Shatuo Que Shi.

Then both of them got a refill.

From the moment he entered until he finished dinner, Zheng Fan did not say a word.

Everything he wanted to say had already been said over the previous few nights.

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, Zheng Fan leaned slightly backward.

He looked at Shatuo Que Shi, who still stood there with his eyes closed, utterly motionless.

After several days of Siniang’s work, Shatuo Que Shi no longer looked quite so sinister or horrifying.

He looked somewhat human again.

“Hey.

“I actually make pretty good cola chicken wings.

“Wake up sooner and I can cook some for you.

“You don’t know what cola is, do you?

“Actually, I don’t know how to make it either.

“But if I make the Blind Man and the others mess around with it, they should eventually figure something out.

“Don’t feel inferior.

“You’re only a zombie.

“Look at Liang Cheng.

“That bastard is a zombie too.

“Doesn’t he spend every day jumping around like a perfectly normal person?

“Stop standing there like an idiot.

“Open your eyes sooner.

“We can chat.”

Zheng Fan muttered on despite knowing it probably would not help.

He simply wanted to say it.

The man had smashed a carriage for him.

The man had helped him put on a performance.

The man had died, turned into a zombie, and instead of returning home had come south looking for him.

He had treated Zheng Fan more than well enough.

“Hey.

“Do you get lonely staying in this room by yourself at night?”

Zheng Fan asked.

Shatuo Que Shi remained silent.

“Sleeping alone must get lonely.

“I’d like to sleep here with you at night.

“But Siniang is a woman, and she’s afraid of the dark.

“I have to keep her company.

“How about this?

“I’ll leave my son here.

“You grandfather and grandson can have a chat tonight.”

With that, Zheng Fan took the stone containing the Demon Child from inside his clothes and placed it on the floor.

Then he turned, closed the door, and left.

As he descended the steps, a smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of Zheng Fan’s mouth.

Little bastard.

Let’s see you make trouble tonight!

Inside the pitch-black room, the stone Zheng Fan had left on the floor suddenly trembled.

It rocked.

Shatuo Que Shi, who had stood there without moving for several days, actually swayed faintly as well.

The stone rocked once.

Shatuo Que Shi rocked once.

The stone rocked twice.

Shatuo Que Shi rocked twice.

After a while, the stone fell still.

Shatuo Que Shi stopped moving too.

...

Elsewhere, Zheng Fan was halfway back to his room to wash up and rest when a tiny figure nimbly bounded in front of him.

At first, Zheng Fan thought it was Xue San.

Only when it came closer did he realize it was that great filial son the little wolf cub.

The wolf cub excitedly patted his tiny chest.

“My...

“My...

“My people...

“My...

“My people... came... here!”

The wolf cub was extremely intelligent.

He was learning to speak very quickly.

Hearing this, Zheng Fan narrowed his eyes.

He grabbed the wolf cub with one hand and ran toward the gatehouse.

On top of the gatehouse, Siniang, Liang Cheng, the Blind Man, Ding Hao, and a large group of others were already waiting.

When Zheng Fan arrived, they consciously opened a path for him.

Outside, beneath the pitch-black night, a mass of dark shadows could be seen swaying in the distance.

As the group drew closer, the torches atop the gatehouse finally illuminated their appearance.

They were a band of wild men with disheveled hair and filthy faces.

Their clothes were ragged.

But their eyes were extraordinarily sharp.

They looked less like a group of people and more like a pack of... starving wolves wandering the desert.

The wolf cub excitedly shouted at them in his “dialect.”

The crowd below immediately answered with thunderous cheers.

Clearly, these tribesmen strongly approved of their great filial son of a Young Lord.

There was no helping it.

Perhaps this was simply the desert’s... corporate culture.

At that moment, the group below parted down the middle.

A man built like an iron tower stepped out.

He raised his head and looked toward the gatehouse.

Then, BANG!

He slammed a fist against his chest and roared, “Master!

“Have you eaten dinner yet?!”

Behind the enormous man, another figure emerged.

He wore formal evening dress.

His face was pale.

But his hair was immaculate, and the clothes on his body looked terrifyingly new.

Against the ragged wild men surrounding him, the contrast could not have been more striking.

As he walked, he continued filing his fingernails.

Only when he had nearly reached the gate did he seem to remember where he was.

He raised his head and glanced upward.

An elegant, restrained smile worthy of a nobleman appeared on his face.

He placed his right hand over his chest, bent slightly at the waist, and saluted.

“Master.

“Your most loyal subordinate has returned.”

(End of Chapter)